Every ten years, the Florida legislature is charged with redrawing the electoral district lines to reflect population shifts detected in the census. Florida will take this up in the 2012 legislature.

It's no surprise Florida grew nearly 18% from a decade ago, and Palm Beach County increased nearly 17%. While in theory, redistricting should just reflect demographics, but in reality, it becomes complicated by incumbents eager to keep their seats, political parties seeking boundaries of self-interest and other factors, from racial politics, to population equity.

We believe municipalities should be kept whole and not divided. The Town of Palm Beach is a 16 mile barrier island on the Atlantic Ocean that follows natural and man-made boundaries in a coastal district that shares with other beachfront communities along the coast, common interests in shore protection and beach erosion.

Yet, for more than a decade the Town has been cut in two and represented by two different county commissioners and two different legislators who represent far larger portions of the region with very different interests from ours.

We think to cut our little town in two—and divide 8000 voters who share common interests---into a north and south, cut in the middle, means none of us is represented adequately and divides us in a way where we really can't get the attention of our elected representatives or have our collective voice heard.

We urge our legislators to redistrict the Town of Palm Beach into just one district—and make it a coastal district.

--Judy Goodman for the Palm Beach Civic Association